A hand gesture is a form of non-verbal communication in which visible hand actions allow an individual to communicate messages. Hand gesture recognition is being increasingly used in computer technology, with the goal of interpreting human gestures via mathematical algorithms. Hand gesture recognition technology enables humans to interface with a computer and interact naturally without any mechanical devices. For example, using the concept of gesture recognition, it is possible to point a finger at the computer screen so that the cursor will move accordingly.
The hand gesture recognition concept is also being increasingly used in the video game technology, in which a player's hand gestures are communicated to a computer system by way of a handheld device. For example, Wii, a home video game console made by Nintendo Co. Ltd. uses a wireless controller, the Wii Remote, which can be used as a handheld pointing device and can detect movement in three dimensions. The Wii remote can study changes in acceleration over time to represent gestures.
There are many challenges associated with the accuracy and usefulness of conventional gesture recognition computer systems and software. Conventional systems are not highly accurate because they generally rely on linear sensors, whereas human hand gestures largely include angular movements. Thus, conventional systems can only properly recognize large hand movements and are unable to properly differentiate between hand gestures that are only slightly different from each other. It would be desirable to have recognition systems that can differentiate between similar hand gestures.